I believe in the healing power of a brownie. I know, they say that sugary things are not good for you, but how can something that looks and tastes so good, possibly, be bad for you???
Seriously! I also believe that a brownie recipe is like an LDB (Little Black Dress). Just like every woman should have an LDB in her wardrobe, every food blogger should have a brownie recipe in her/his blog.
Table of Contents
Well, this one is my “Ultimate Brownie” recipe.
These brownies coupled with a cup of coffee and my favorite book (or a great movie) is how I spoil myself. Just like I did this past weekend with my husband…
I kid you not, after eating 2 squares of brownies topped with 2 BIG scoops of vanilla ice cream, my husband, Dwight said that even if it were to make him go blind for the next 3 days, he would still eat them.
Crazy husband! No?
I have made this so many times and it never failed me. The best part about it is that you do not need a fancy mixer. All you need is your very own arm power.
It is chewy, gooey, fudgy and SERIOUSLY chocolatey.
There are three things you have got to do for this recipe to work:
- Use cake flour: If you were wondering if you can use cake flour to make brownies, you are in the right place. This recipe is made with cake flour and I would not recommend it with all-purpose flour for this recipe. You have got to use cake flour. If you do not have cake flour at home, you can make your own.
Here is the formula: To make 1-cup cake flour, you need ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Mix them in a bowl and then, using a sifter set over a bowl, sift them at least four times to get them well incorporated.
Or… simply go to the supermarket and buy some cake flour. I tried, they, both, work very well… - You need to switch from whisking to folding: As you will see in the recipe, at first, you whisk the wet ingredients and then you fold the dry ingredients into the wet batter.
I think this is the most important part because if you continue whisking (instead of “folding”), the proteins in the flour toughen, which, as a result, produces a tougher cake.So, what is “folding”?I found the best answer for this question in the Bouchon Bakery - Book co-writen by Sebastien Rouxel, the Pastry Chef of Bouchon Bakery. In his book he says:
“Folding one ingredient to another – flour into beaten eggs for a cake, for instance – is so common an instruction that we scarcely think to define it. The method we teach our chefs for folding is to use a double action: spin the bowl gently counterclockwise with you left hand as you draw your spatula from the back of the bowl toward you, scraping the bottom of the bowl, lifting and folding the batter. (If you are left handed, do the reverse.) The idea here is to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients uniformly but as quickly as possible to avoid smashing the air bubbles out of your batter.” - The last thing is very simple. Top it off with your favorite ice cream (mine is this ice cream) or have it for breakfast with a cup of cold milk.
Cake Flour Brownie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups Cake Flour, 5 oz.
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, 1 1/2 sticks – 6 oz.
- 2 1/4 cups sugar, 15 3/4 oz.
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped, 4 oz.
Instructions
- Place the oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 325 F degrees. Line a 13X9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray it with vegetable oil spray.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Using the bain-marie double boiler method (place a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water), melt the chocolate and butter. Stir it occasionally, until it becomes smooth.
- Off the heat, transfer the now-melted chocolate to a large glass bowl. Whisk in the sugar into the chocolate-butter mixture in three batches. Add eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition, until they are thoroughly combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Fold in the flour mixture in three additions, until it is completely smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Using a spatula, spread it evenly and into the corners. Sprinkle it with walnuts.
- Bake it for 33 to 35 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack for an hour before cutting it into small squares.
- Serve it with vanilla ice cream or with a cup of cold milk.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen‘s Classic Brownie Recipe.
These brownies were a huge hit at my house! I made bunny cakelets with the recipe using a Nordic Ware pan and it made 10 scrumptious bunnies. The bunnies were chewy on the outside and soft and smooth in the middle, like lava cake, and oh, so chocolatey! Normally I use regular flour for brownies, but had some cake flour that needed to be used, so I stumbled upon this recipe, and it is now printed and in my favorites folder. No icing needed for these brownies, but the vanilla ice cream is a must :- ) Thank you for the recipe, Aysegul!
YAY! This makes me so happy Debora. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.Cheers!
I am so confused by the measurements like these. Is that 2 1/4 cups AND 15 3/4 sugar or either/or?
2 1/4 cups 15 3/4 oz. sugar
Hi James,
I am sorry that it is confusing.
It is either or.
You will need 2 1/4 cups OR 15.75 oz. of sugar.
I hope this helps. I am here and available if I can answer any other questions.
Cheers,
Aysegul
These were great.
Well done on you for coming out with such an awesome recipe!
I am Airbnbing my flat with my roommate this December
I made these this evening and we all joined in the kitchen to eat them with some drinks!
My guests were stuffing their faces saying
“These are the best brownies I ever had!”
We ate them with vanilla ice cream and a light coconut chocolate sauce.
Follow her recipe guys.
It has amazing reviews for a good reason.
Job well done Ice 🙂
Hi Nami,
This is music to my ears. Thanks so much for your kind words. I am so SO happy to hear that your friends liked the recipe. It is a favorite recipe in our house as well.
Wishing you a happy new year!
Cheers!
Can you swap chocolate for cocoa powder? Also can you give the precise weight of the sugar and butter?
Hi Araba,
The recipe has been updated with the precise weight of the butter. I would not recommend swapping cocoa powder for sugar.
I hope this helps.
Well, I tried making these brownies and they turned out horrible! Threw the whole pan away, the top cracked like the earth in an earthquake and they were dough gooey on the inside. I have never had a brownie come out like this before – looked nothing like the pictures!
Hi TK,
First and foremost, I am very sorry that you had such a bad experience. This was certainly not my intention.
This was one of the first recipes that I shared back in 2013 when I first started my blog. It saddens me to hear that it turned out so bad that you had to throw it all out. At first I thought that I may have written the recipe wrong, but I knew it wasn’t wrong because I made this cake more than 15 times myself since I published it on the blog. This brownie is not only my husband’s favorite, but also my go-to dessert for potlucks and picnics.
Would you be so kind to tell me what was wrong with it? What was it that made it inedible? Too much (or less) sugar? Too dense? Too oily? I would love to know.
Once I hear from you, I will try the recipe again and see if I can fix the issue.
Once again, I am truly sorry that you had such a bad experience. I look forward to hearing from you.
Can i use dark chocolate?
Hi Ezra,
Yes, as long as it is baking chocolate you should be fine.
Hope this helps.
Apologize for all the typos my phone made as corrections. I meant these not he’s. “I will admit that I subbed almond flour in place of regular.”
Ugh wish I’d checked before submitting. My apologies
No worries… Thank you for letting me know.
It sure is a favorite in our house as well. 🙂
He’s are the most amazing brownies, I will let Ms. that I substituted Allman flour and cut the sugar down to 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and pasted it to make sure it was sweet enough. It might be sweet enough with that much sugar because I used almond flour. They are ridiculously good. My family he’s are the most amazing brownies, I will let Ms. that I substituted Allman flour and cut the sugar down to 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and pasted it to make sure it was sweet enough. It might be sweet enough with that much sugar because I used almond flour. They are ridiculously good this is my go to brownie last time I made them my kids and husband devoured them. My kids n hubby found then where I’d hid them in the freezer and ate the frozen topped w PEANUT BUTTER